Vinsko's Mess- River Road or Railroad

Today's Times Leader features this article by veteran reporter Jennifer Learn-Andes reporting that Wilkes Barre (aka Tom Leighton's Cook County Version) was rescinding its controversial deal with Leo Glodizk III to sell him the former Old River Road Bakery.

The city is expected to appear before the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board today seeking forgiveness of more than $445,000 in back taxes on the property so it won’t be listed in a September back-tax auction.

School board members said no to the request once, in part due to public complaints about the handling of the sale to Glodzik.

The city did not publicly advertise the property to ensure it obtained the highest offer from prospective buyers. Glodzik, owner of LAG Towing, the city’s towing contractor, has donated $10,400 to city Mayor Tom Leighton’s campaign committee since 2005.

Leighton has said in the past that political donations have no bearing on city business. The mayor also said other buyers had expressed interest in the property, but none were willing to pay close to the $38,000 offered by Glodzik.

Take a look at that picture and convince yourself that the building and property aren't worth more than $38,000.00. It was assessed at $478,300.00.

Sources close to SOP tell us that Attorney Vinsko failed to file papers on time in this matter leading to the current situation.

Leo Glodzik III of L.A.G Transport Inc, a staunch Leighton political supporter, wanted to use the property as storage for his towing business.

A federal lawsuit was filed in Scranton back in 2009 over this property as described in this Times Leader article by Terri Morgan-Besecker.

Tyler and Antonia Hammond claim Leighton and Vinsko took steps to deprive them and other persons of the right to purchase the property at 250 Old River Road so that it could be sold to a person who was a private client of Leighton’s real estate business and Vinsko’s law firm.

The suit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Scranton by attorney Cynthia Pollick, does not identify the person to whom the property was sold. But details contained in the suit indicate it revolves around the sale of the defunct bakery to Leo Glodzik III of L.A.G Transport Inc.

Glodzik recently purchased the property for $38,000 to house a storage facility for his towing business. Luzerne County had assessed the 1.14-acre property at $478,300.

Wilkes Barre City is asking for the Wilkes Barre Area School Board to forgive $445, 000.00 in back taxes owed on the property. Or is the translation Leighton is asking the school board to forgive $445, 000.00 in back taxes so he can get Vinsko off the hook and sell the property to his political buddy, Leo Glodzik, III.

It should be worth noting that the City of Wilkes Barre enforced liens it had on the Hotel Sterling project against CityVest according to this TL article by Jennifer Learn-Andes back on June 21. Ask Wilkes Barre Area to do what the Wilkes Barre City wouldn't. Hmmmmm

Tammany Hall..lets see...

What A Difference

What a difference a month makes.

April 4, 2009 On Friday, Toole and Height both said no investigators have contacted them personally.

May 12, 2009Wilkes-Barre Area School Board President James Height resigned abruptly and without giving a reason Tuesday afternoon.

What a difference four years make(Gort's post).

Wilkes-Barre Area School Directors Jim Height received the Democratic nomination and is running as a team with with Brian Dunn.

What a difference an FBI probe makes.

Officials predict thousands of jobs, billions in cash for economy $1.6B cargo airport eyed Times Leader: 02-01-2007 By Jerry Lynott

You Can't "Pick" Your Friends And You Can't "Pick" Your Relatives

The FBI investigating the Wilkes Barre Area School district hiring practices discovered the "pick system." In today's Times Leader Jennifer Learn-Andes writes about the "pick system" employed(no pun intended,not)when looking at applicants for elementary teaching positions in that district.

As part of a federal investigation, Wilkes-Barre Area School Board members were asked to review a list of elementary teachers hired since 2004 and put their initials by the ones they recommended for interviews, according to board members Joe Moran and Jim Height.

Namey supplied board members with a list of teachers with check marks by all the ones hired for elementary school positions, the board members said. He asked board members to review the check-marked names and initial the ones they had recommended for interviews, they said.

The focus was on elementary positions because there’s little competition and sometimes a shortage of applicants for more specialized secondary education and special education positions, the board members said.

A recommendation to interview an applicant is important in the Wilkes-Barre Area School District because of the way the district’s unwritten hiring process is set up, said School Board member Lynn Evans. Hundreds of applicants apply for elementary teaching positions, so the administration relies primarily on recommendations from board members to decide who is interviewed, Evans said. It’s nicknamed the “pick system,” she said.

No one has been charged with any crime in this investigation.

Grand Jury Looks At Wilkes Barre School District

Wilkes-Barre Area School District Superintendent Jeff Namey went before a grand jury yesterday looking into the hiring practices of the Wilkes-Barre Area School District. According to Jerry Lynott at the Times Leader Namey entered with a folder under his arm and left empty handed.

Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, Namey said he “went in and had to provide some information and that’s exactly what I did.” He estimated he was before the panel for 25 to 30 minutes.

He was seen outside the grand jury room around 9:35 a.m. and again in the hallway near the room’s entrances at approximately 11:25 a.m.

Two men left the room about an hour before Namey, but would not answer questions or identify themselves.

When reached later in the afternoon, Namey said no one else from the district went before the grand jury Tuesday.

As he left the courthouse, Namey spoke to reporters and shed light on other matters related and unrelated to his appearance.

Within the past two weeks, FBI agents interviewed district employees, Namey said. “It’s common knowledge that they spoke to a couple of teachers.”

Federal investigators are conducting a separate investigation into the Wilkes-Barre Area Vocational Technical School, according to Namey. “I have some knowledge, but I can’t comment,” he said.

Dave Janoski at the Citizen's Voice who is doing a yeoman's job covering the Luzerne County Courthouse investigation and prosecution recorded this comment in his article today.

Namey, who appeared in federal court in Scranton without an attorney, said it was his first time testifying before a grand jury. “It was not pleasant,” he told news reporters afterward.

“I was asked to provide some information and that’s exactly what I did,” Namey said. “If anything inappropriate occurred, there needs to be a consequence.”

BREAKING NEWS- NEW FBI PROBE INVOLVING ARBRITRATION AWARDS

Times Leader Photo

Times Leader's Terry Morgan-Besecker is breaking news that the FBI took 87 cases involving abritration awards in Luzerne County for a new federal grand jury that will be empaneled April 7th in Scranton.

The subpoena sought all files or records relating to underinsured motorists from Jan. 1, 2002 to the present.

Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation took 79 case files dealing with the appointment of neutral arbitrators in uninsured motorist insurance cases from Luzerne County President Judge Chester Muroski's office this afternoon, Muroski said.

Muroski said the agents learned he had been collecting the files as part of the court's own review of the arbitration cases. Two agents visited him today with a subpoena requesting the documents and he complied.

In a related story the Times Leader is reporting:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, already probing corruption at the Luzerne County Courthouse, is now investigating the Wilkes-Barre Area School District and Wilkes-Barre Area Vocational-Technical School.

The FBI on Thursday requested a list of the Wilkes-Barre Area Vocational-Technical Joint Operating Committee board members since 2005, said attorney Jack Dean, who provides legal assistance for the school.

Dean said the information was supplied, and he stressed that the request was not in the form of a subpoena.

A well-placed source said the FBI also requested Wilkes-Barre Area School Board meeting minutes from 2004 to the present and district’s teacher hiring policy.

The summer hasn't arrived but it sure is getting hot in Luzerne County.